First recorded in 1865–70; named after J. T. Brudnell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797–1868), British cavalryman of Crimean War fame
A cardigan is a sweater that opens in front. Your favorite cardigan might have pearl buttons and pockets. Unlike a sweater that you pull on over your head, a cardigan is shrugged on over the shoulders and buttons, zips, or snaps up the front — or is worn open, with no fasteners at all. During the Crimean War in the 1800s, English general James Thomas Brudenell's troops wore jackets that opened in front, and since he was the 7th Earl of Cardigan, these garments — and future open-front sweaters — were known as cardigans.
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Karen Jones, who works in the local café Food for Thought, says it's the quietest she's known Cardigan to be in the four years she's worked here.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
The second part honors David Rhys Jones, a schoolteacher at Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi in Cardigan, Wales, who taught the study's lead author.
From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026
At the highest end are boarding schools such as Cardigan Mountain, where repeating a grade for academic, emotional or other reasons has been common for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026
The body of Corinna Baker was found at Netpool Boat Yard in Cardigan, Ceredigion, at around 12:35 GMT on Saturday.
From BBC • Nov. 16, 2025
It had happened between the "Cambrian" and "Cardigan" hotels.
From Mushroom Town by Onions, Oliver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
